Acupuncture for depression and psychological disorders
Abstract
Acupuncture therapy has been known as a practice related
to oriental medicine, and recently has been detected
as a potential therapeutic tool for which there is good scientific
evidence. Depression and anxiety are usually classified
as mental illnesses and it is more useful to think of
them as disturbances in brain health, which is directly related
to the physical makeup and brain mechanisms and
emotional and relational issues. The ancient Chinese
practice of acupuncture could be used for the treatment
of depression and anxiety, instead of drugs. The purpose
of this review was to summarize the existing evidence on
acupuncture as a treatment for anxiety and depression.
Search of the literature on acupuncture treatment was
limited to specific mental health conditions: depression
and anxiety disorder. The literature review focused on
systematic reviews. Search focused on the latest versions.
The available resources provide some evidence that acupuncture
is an effective treatment for these conditions.
The findings of the studies show that acupuncture can
play an important
Role in the treatment of depression and anxiety.
Introduction: Acupuncture is one of the most popular
complementary and alternative therapies. Acupuncture
is a treatment method that originated more than 3,000
years in China and practiced in most of the world. This
method is often used as a routine therapy in China,
Japan, Korea and Taiwan, and since the late 1970s has
gained popularity in the United States and elsewhere in
the western world. Acupuncture is increasingly used in
psychiatric disorders. The effect of acupuncture in depression
(including depressive neurosis and depression
following stroke) has been repeatedly demonstrated in
controlled studies. Traumatic stress disorder develops after
a stressful event or situation which has an exceptionally
threatening or catastrophic nature, which is likely to
cause significant discomfort.
